How to Search Amazon for Deals up to 90% Off

Amazon has a discount filter that it does not put in the sidebar. You can search any department for items marked down 40%, 70%, even 90% off list price — it just takes one extra piece added to the end of the web address.

This has been the most-read page on this site for years, and a fair number of you have written in asking whether the trick still works. It does. What had gone stale were some of my own links: Amazon retired a handful of the category IDs they pointed at, so those rows quietly stopped filtering anything. Every link below has been rebuilt and checked against a live search.

Heads up: the links in the cheat sheet are Amazon affiliate links. If you buy something through one, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It costs you nothing and it keeps this site running. Full FTC disclosure here.

The URL trick, in one line

Amazon's search accepts a discount refinement that the interface mostly hides. Run any search, then add this to the end of the address:

&pct-off=90-

The trailing dash means "90 percent and above". Change the number to whatever floor you want — &pct-off=40- for 40% and up, &pct-off=25- for a wider net.

On a keyword search

This is the version worth remembering, because it beats browsing a whole department. Search for the thing you actually want, then add the parameter to the results URL:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=snare+drum&pct-off=50-

That returns snare drums at half off or better, rather than a department page full of items you were never going to buy.

On a category page

Category URLs carry a node number — the digits after n: or node= in the address bar. Once you have that number you can build a filtered search for any corner of the catalogue:

https://www.amazon.com/s?rh=n%3A11970241%2Cp_8%3A70-

Here 11970241 is Drums & Percussion and p_8%3A70- is the same discount filter written the way category searches expect it. Swap in any node number and any percentage.

Amazon deal finder cheat sheet

Click any percentage to open that category filtered to items at that discount or deeper. If you want a tier that is not in the table, open one of these and edit the number in the address bar.

Music gear and recording

Category	90% off	80% off	70% off	60% off	50% off	40% off
Drums & Percussion	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Drum Sets & Components	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Electronic Drums	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Hand Percussion	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Instrument Accessories	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Studio Recording Equipment	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Guitars	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
All Musical Instruments	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%

Tools, home and garden

Category	90% off	80% off	70% off	60% off	50% off	40% off
Tools & Home Improvement	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Home & Kitchen	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Kitchen & Dining	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Furniture	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Appliances	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Patio, Lawn & Garden	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%

Tech and entertainment

Category	90% off	80% off	70% off	60% off	50% off	40% off
Electronics	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Computers & Accessories	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Camera & Photo	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Cell Phones & Accessories	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Video Games	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Movies & TV	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Books	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%

Clothing, health and beauty

Category	90% off	80% off	70% off	60% off	50% off	40% off
Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Watches	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Beauty & Personal Care	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Health & Household	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%

Everyday, sports and family

Category	90% off	80% off	70% off	60% off	50% off	40% off
Grocery & Gourmet Food	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Sports & Outdoors	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Automotive	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Pet Supplies	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Office Products	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Toys & Games	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Baby & Toddler Toys	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%
Kids Sports & Outdoor Play	90%	80%	70%	60%	50%	40%

How to get something worth having out of these searches

A raw discount search is a pile of candidates, not a list of bargains. A few things that turn it into the second one:

• Check More Buying Choices before you add to cart. The deepest savings are usually one click in, where used, open-box and Amazon Warehouse listings sit. On anything built to last — hardware, cases, tools — a warehouse listing in good condition is often the best price on the page.
• Sort by price, not by featured. Add &s=price-asc-rank to the URL and the cheapest results come to the front.
• Go narrow, not wide. A department at 70% off is thousands of results you will never read. A keyword search at 70% off is a page you can actually scan.
• Start high and work down. If 90% comes back thin, try 70%, then 50%. The sweet spot for real gear is usually somewhere in the middle.
• Look at the tail end of a product line. The deepest markdowns cluster on discontinued colours, odd sizes and last year's model — which, for a drum builder buying hardware, is very often completely fine.

Why a 90% discount is not always a saving

Worth being straight about this. The percentage is calculated against a list price, not against what the item normally sells for. A seller who sets an optimistic list price gets an eye-catching markdown for free, and the number tells you nothing about whether the price is good.

So treat the filter as a way to surface candidates rather than as proof of a deal. When something looks promising, check what other sellers charge for the same item before you buy. And remember what tends to be left at the very deep end: unpopular sizes, discontinued finishes, and colours nobody chose the first time around. Sometimes that is exactly what you want. Sometimes it is 90% off for a reason.

If you are shopping for drum building gear

The music rows at the top of the cheat sheet are the ones I use most. If you are working out what to actually buy, these will help more than a discount filter will:

• Drum building tools for the beginning drum builder — the short list of what you genuinely need first.
• 5 tips for building your first custom drum set on a budget — where the money actually goes.
• How much time and money will I need to invest? — an honest answer before you start buying.
• The full drum building tools list — everything, in one place.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Amazon percent-off search still work?

Yes. The discount refinement is still live on Amazon.com. It is not exposed as a menu option on most category pages, so the only way to reach it is by putting it in the URL yourself or by using a link that already has it. If a link of this kind sends you to an unfiltered page, the category ID in the link has been retired, not the filter.

What is the highest discount I can search for?

You can put any whole number in, but the practical ceiling is 90%. Anything above that returns almost nothing, because Amazon calculates the discount against a list price and very few items carry a markdown that deep. If a 90% search comes back thin, drop to 70% and you will usually find far more worth buying.

Can I use the discount filter on a keyword search instead of a whole category?

Yes, and this is usually the better way to shop. Search for what you actually want, then add the discount parameter to the results URL. Searching for a snare drum at 50% off returns a far more useful page than browsing an entire department at 50% off.

Why do some items show a huge discount that is not a real saving?

The percentage is calculated against the manufacturer list price, not against what the item normally sells for. Some sellers set a high list price so the markdown looks dramatic. Before buying, check what the same item sells for from other sellers and treat the percentage as a way to surface candidates rather than as proof of a bargain.

Do these searches include used and open-box items?

The main results are new items. The deeper savings are often one click further in, under More Buying Choices on the product page, where used, open-box and Amazon Warehouse listings appear. On gear that is built to last, a warehouse listing in good condition is frequently the best price on the page.

Can I search a category that is not on this list?

Yes. Open the category on Amazon, look in the address bar for the node number after n: or node=, and drop that number into the URL pattern shown above. Any department, subcategory or brand page will work the same way.

What should I add to the cheat sheet?

The table has grown over the years entirely from reader requests — office supplies and watches both came in through the comments. If the category you shop is missing, say so below and I will add it.